There’s a reason, beyond just good scouting, that the San Antonio Spurs seem to find guys deep in the draft who can contribute. It’s a culture thing, a character thing. They have built a culture of responsibility and accountability around that franchise — no matter who you are you fit the system and play your role. Guys walk in and buy in.

When you watch the Washington Wizards play this year… well, that is pretty much the opposite. There is some talent there but everyone is out for themselves, nobody seems to try and fit in the system.

Michael Lee at the Washington Post spoke with scouts and front office people from other teams about the Wizards and the conversation was more about the toxic culture than just the lack of talent on the Wizards.

“No team in the league, if the environment was good, would be 0-for-the-season,” (an assistant GM for another team) said. “Whatever the optimum each guy has, it’ll never be realized when it’s dysfunctional. The talent on that roster can’t win. You can’t win with Andray Blatche. I don’t care what anybody says. He has talent. He has some talent. But tell me where he’s won. . . . John Wall is a young player. Where’s the veteran leadership for those guys? Gilbert [Arenas] was the former example. What kind of example was that?”

But what about the potential of Wall, Blatche, Nick Young and JaVale McGee?

“teaser talent that isn’t ready for the prime time yet. It teases you in games, but at the end of the day, you aren’t going to get the win. Flip’s hands are tied there, because he doesn’t have a lot to work with.”

Flip Saunders job remains safe for now, according to everyone close to the team. And it’s not like Saunders forgot how to coach.

What Washington needs now is a veteran or veterans who will start to change the culture in that locker room. Leaders, who Wall and maybe others will follow. There are stories about how Kevin Garnett came into Boston and during training camp drills his first year pushed veteran Paul Pierce to do more, verbally and by example. That is the kind of thing a coach alone can’t do. The Wizards need a guy like that… and even then it will take some roster changes.

In fact, in Saturday’s dunk contest, he didn’t look like a dunker at all.

The Pacers star missed all three attempts of his first dunk, and a Black Panther mask was by far the biggest draw of his second. Oladipo was eliminated after the first round.

Maybe Dennis Smith Jr. wasn’t the only eliminated dunker who left something in his bag. This Oladipo dunk – 180 degrees, throwing ball off the backboard with his left hand while in mid-air, dunking with his right hand – while preparing in Los Angeles was awesome.

A statement released Wednesday by the NFL and NBA clubs says their 90-year-old owner is resting comfortably at Ochsner Medical Center, a hospital which also serves as a major sponsor and which owns naming rights to the teams’ training headquarters.

Benson has owned the New Orleans Saints since 1985 and bought the New Orleans Pelicans in 2012.

In recent years, Benson has overhauled his estate plan so that his third wife, Gayle, would be first in line to inherit control of the two major professional franchises.

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said he’d be surprised if Kawhi Leonard played again this season, a stark reversal from just a month ago. Back then, even while announcing Leonard was out indefinitely with a quad injury, the San Antonio coach said Leonard wouldn’t miss the rest of the season.

After spending 10 days before the All-Star break in New York consulting with a specialist to gather a second opinion on his right quad injury, All-NBA forward Kawhi Leonard bears the burden of determining when he’s prepared to play again, sources told ESPN.

Leonard has been medically cleared to return from the right quad tendinopathy injury, but since shutting down a nine-game return to the Spurs that ended Jan. 13, he has elected against returning to the active roster, sources said.

The uncertainty surrounding this season — and Leonard’s future which could include free agency in the summer of 2019 — has inspired a palpable stress around the organization, league sources said.

At first glance, this sounds like Derrick Rose five years ago. Even after he was cleared to play following a torn ACL, the then-Bulls star remained mysterious about when he’d suit up. His confidence in his physical abilities seemed to be a major issue, and he was never the same player since (suffering more leg injuries).

But the Spurs famously favor resting players to preserve long-term health. They seem unlikely to rush back Leonard. They might even sit players who want to play more often. And Leonard isn’t Rose.

Still, it’s clear something is amiss in San Antonio. Maybe not amiss enough to end Leonard’s tenure there, but the longer this lingers, the more time for tension to percolate.